In general, a clothes treating apparatus refers to an apparatus having at least one of a dehydrating function and a drying function for clothes (or laundry). For example, a drying machine as an example clothes treating apparatus is an apparatus for drying an object by introducing the object into a drum and evaporating moisture contained in the object by supplying hot air into the drum. A washing machine having a drying function is an apparatus capable of drying clothes, which have been dehydrated after washed, with hot air.
Air which is discharged out of a drum after evaporating moisture within the clothes during a drying process is in a state of high temperature and high humidity. Drying machines may be classified according to a method of treating the air of high temperature and high humidity. For example, drying machines may be classified into a condensing type drying machine in which air of high temperature and high humidity circulates without being discharged out of the drying machine to cause heat exchange in a heat exchanger so that moisture contained in the air of high temperature and high humidity can be condensed, and an exhausting type drying machine of discharging air of high temperature and high humidity which has passed through a drum directly to the outside.
In addition, air which is discharged out of a drum after being used for drying an object may contain foreign materials, such as lint coming apart from the object. The foreign materials may be collected within the clothes treating apparatus while moving together with the air. Therefore, a filter may be used for filtering the foreign materials.
When foreign materials are collected in the filter by more than a predetermined level, they interfere with the flow of air. Hence, a regular cleaning of the filter is performed. For example, a user first detaches a filter or a filter assembly from the clothes treating apparatus for cleaning, removes foreign materials from the filter, and attaches it back to the clothes treating apparatus.